Apple chutney

Posted: September 7, 2014 by Paula Stephenson

There aren’t any apples in the garden, but we were talking about making chutney last week so I said I’d post a recipe. I haven’t tasted the chutnney yet, as it needs to be stored for a couple of months before you eat it.

Apple chutney ingredients

1.5 kg eating apples

250g cooking apples

400g raisins

150g dates

1kg soft dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon crushed died chillies

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

1 double thumb-sized piece root ginger, grated

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

1 teaspoon cloves

1 tablespoon allspice berries

2 teaspoons salt

Juice 1/2 lemon

How to make apple chutney

Put everything in a preserving pan, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Continue to cook until thick – count on this taking between 2 and 4 hours

Crabapple Jelly Tarts

Posted: September 23, 2013 by admin

Recipe from Therese
Crab Apple Jelly

Ingredients

· 4 kg crab apples
· 1 kg caster sugar
· 1 lemon, juiced

Method

1. Wash the apples, remove the blossom heads and cut out any bruised bits. Put in a saucepan, fill with water to cover the apples and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25 minutes until the fruit is soft. Pour the pulp into a jelly bag or several layers of muslin and let drip overnight into a pan beneath. Don’t squeeze the bag, it will cloud the jelly.

2. The next day, measure the juice, and combine with sugar at the ratio of 10 parts juice to 7 sugar. Add the lemon, then bring to the boil to dissolve the sugar. Keep at a rolling boil for 35–40 minutes, skimming off the froth regularly. To test, chill a dessertspoon in the fridge. When the jelly is set, it will solidify on the back of the spoon. Pour into warm, sterilised preserving jars and tightly seal while still slightly warm. Store in a cool dark place.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, flour and salt. Pulse until the mixture resembles very fine bread crumbs. Add the confectioners’ sugar, egg yolk and 2 tablespoons chilled water, and pulse a few times to bring the mixture together. Pour onto a work surface and knead the dough sparingly until smooth, being careful not to overwork it. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

Assembly

Lightly flour a cool work surface and roll the pastry into a large disk about 1/4-inch thick. Cut circles to fit in your tart pans, and push the circles into the pans. Fill each tart with a dollop of jelly. The jelly will melt in the oven, put enough in to cover the bottom of the tart to about 5mm high.

Bake in a 165 degree oven until the tart is golden brown and the jelly has melted, 15-20 min.

Method
1. Crush the garlic with the side of a knife and peel.
2. Pick the basil leaves from their stalks.
3. Blend the basil, pine nuts, olive oil and garlic in a food processor or a hand held blender.
4. Stir in the cheese.
5. Season to taste.
6. Serve with pasta or crusty white bread.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Posted: by admin

Recipe courtesy of Thrive
Ingredients
6 medium sized green tomatoes.
seasoned flour with salt and pepper.
bread crumb (using about half a loaf of bread).
2 eggs beaten.
olive oil.
Method.
1.Slice tomatoes into quarter inch thick.
2.Lightly dust with flour (can be done by tossing in food bag with flour and seasoning)
3. Dip in egg and shake off the excess.
4.Cover generously in bread crumb
5. Put in pre heated frying pan with generous glug of olive oil cooking on either side for around 3 minutes.
6. Lay on kitchen towel to get rid of excess oil.

Return water in pot to boil. Add macaroni; cook until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Stir macaroni into warm cheese sauce. Place half of macaroni in dish; smooth top. Top with 1 cup Edam cheese, then chard. Top with remaining macaroni mixture; spread evenly.

1. Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking soda together and keep close at hand. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until the butter is soft and creamy. (Alternatively, you can do this and all subsequent steps by hand, working with a sturdy rubber spatula.) Add both sugars, the salt, and vanilla extract and beat for another minute or two. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix only until the dry ingredients are incorporated—the dough will look crumbly, and that’s just right. For the best texture, you want to work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

2. Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface and squeeze it so that it sticks together in large clumps. Gather the dough into a ball, divide it in half, and working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) in diameter. (Cookie-dough logs have a way of ending up with hollow centers, so as you’re shaping each log, flatten it once or twice and roll it up from one long side to the other, just to make certain you haven’t got an air channel.) Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill them for at least 2 hours. (Wrapped airtight, the logs can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month.)

3. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and keep them close at hand.

4. Working with a sharp thin-bladed knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. (Don’t be upset if the rounds break; just squeeze the broken-off bit back onto the cookie.) Place the cookies on the parchment-lined sheets, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) spread space between them.

5. Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time, and bake each sheet for 12 minutes. The cookies will not look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies stand until they are only just warm or until they reach room temperature—it’s your call. Repeat with the second sheet of cookies.

Keeping:
Dough can be made ahead & chilled or frozen. If frozen, the dough needn’t be defrosted before baking—just slice the logs & bake 1 min longer. Packed airtight, baked cookies will keep at room temp for up to 3 days; they can be frozen up to 1 month.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Pick out about 36 of the best-looking pecan halves for topping cookies and finely chop remainder.

Blend together butter, sugars, vanilla, and salt in a bowl with a fork until combined well. Stir in flour and chopped pecans until a soft dough forms (dough will be sticky).

Form 1-inch balls of dough and arrange 2 inches apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls to 1/3 inch thick using bottom of a glass (flour it if necessary), then push a pecan half onto center of each cookie.

Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, about 20 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.

Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

Posted: May 24, 2010 by admin

adapted from a recipe by Barbara Kafka

This is the primary reason I grow chard, it is one of my favourite soups.

In a medium saucepan, cook the chard with 1/2 cup (125 ml) water and the salt over medium heat until tender. Drain the chard, reserving any liquid that remains. Coarsely chop the chard.

Very finely chop the capers together with the rosemary.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the oil and garlic over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is pale gold, about 10 minutes. Stir in the capers and rosemary. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Discard the garlic. Stir in the chard and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring to thoroughly coat it with the oil. Stir in the beans. Cook for 3 minutes.

Stir in the reserved cooking liquid and the stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and stir in the macaroni. Boil for 6 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Pass Parmesan cheese at the table.

Chestnut and Kale Soup

Posted: May 15, 2010 by admin

This is one of my favourite soups. I made it today using Cavolo Nero from my garden.

FROM: Gourmet | December 2003

Zuppa di Castagne e Cavolo Nero

Cavolo nero is a member of the kale family. Between farm stands, specialty produce markets, and natural foods stores it is available year-round. To find it, be aware of its many aliases: Tuscan kale, black cabbage, lacinato, and dinosaur kale. Its rich, sweet, almost meaty flavor will have you hooked from the first bite.

Transfer 2 cups soup to a blender and purée until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), then return to pot. Stir in kale and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until leaves are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in thyme.

Cooks’ notes:
·Soup can be made 3 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat, thinning with water as necessary.
·Beans can be soaked at room temperature up to 12 hours.
·To quick-soak beans: Cover beans with cold water by 2 inches in a 4- to 5-quart pot and bring to a boil, uncovered. Boil beans 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, 1 hour.